“One of the things that impressed us about Heavenspot was their ability to think digitally. The way that you attract your customer today is a lot different than how you approached them ten years ago,” explains McGinn. “One of the early concepts Heavenspot presented was about using technology to integrate stories from consumers. We are a big technology company, and we feel that’s part of what makes us unique. Technology is a really important part of how we serve our customers, so it makes sense that it would play a big part in how we have a conversation with them.”

McGinn’s visit to the Heavenspot offices also made a positive impact. “You get the sense that they are very disciplined. They have a process. They have a diverse team that they’ve put together. Most agencies will only have a couple of Web development people, but when we went to Heavenspot and walked around, they were like, ‘This is the team that does coding. This is the team that does design. This is the team that does software.’ It felt like the way it probably was walking around Apple in the early days.”

McGinn says it’s important to partner with an agency that gets what SquareTrade’s mission is. “We don’t want to go out and blast the marketplace with SquareTrade! SquareTrade! SquareTrade!, like some commercial where everyone with SquareTrade is cool and everyone without it is not. That’s the type of campaign you’d see for something like a men’s body spray. There’s not a lot of conversation about the actual product. It’s a gimmick. We want to have a conversation with consumers. It’s important for us to pick a partner who understands that, one who understands we’re just trying to be genuine and authentic.”